The present invention generally relates to a data input method which allows for two-dimensional bar codes, RFID tags and chips, and other high-capacity machine-readable media to populate any database and/or software xe2x80x9cscreens,xe2x80x9d even though these databases and screens have dissimilar data field formats (dissimilar in both the type and order of information required). More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of intelligent data input using an interactive process between machine-readable media and translation software.
Databases and/or computer screens are generally populated by manual keyboard entry whereby a data entry operator manually enters data into the appropriate data field of the database or screen by key strokes on a computer keyboard. Because such manual data entry is a very labor-intensive task, alternative methods for data entry have been developed in which the data is input from bar codes and/or other machine-readable media. The current state-of-the-art for data input from bar codes and other machine-readable media to databases/screens includes three methods: (1) keyboard wedge placement and input, (2) serial transmission, and (3) data identification.
The first method uses what is known as keyboard wedge placement and input whereby the operator manually places the computer""s cursor in the data field to be populated and then scans a bar code that fills in this field so as to emulate keystrokes. While this method eliminates the need for an operator to manually enter the data into selected data fields, it still requires the operator to manually select each data field and to populate each data field one at a time.
The second method utilizes serial transmission to automatically populate multiple data fields without requiring human intervention or selection of the data fields once the serial transmission is initiated. This method, however, requires that the host software (i.e., the database program) be specially modified or programmed so that when it sees data coming in from a specific communication port (i.e., where a scanner is connected), the host software directs that information to the appropriate data field.
The third method utilizes data identifiers. Using this method, the data, typically sent via file transfer, has special data identifiers (e.g., ASCII characters) that the host software recognizes and performs translation functions to reformat this data and/or to direct this data to the appropriate data field. However, like the second method, the host software must be specially constructed or modified to recognize data identifiers and perform the translation and/or placement functions. Such special modifications to the host software may render it unusable for maintaining other databases.
Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a method for populating a database or screen that overcomes the above problems by automating the xe2x80x9cplacementxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9ctranslationxe2x80x9d functions without requiring any modification to the host software (database or screen). Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method whereby any existing or off-the-shelf database software can be xe2x80x9cfront-endedxe2x80x9d with portable high-capacity machine-readable media, such as two-dimensional bar codes, without requiring custom modification of the database software. An additional aspect of the invention is to provide a method and system for populating a database and/or software screen in a computer, where the data read from a portable high-capacity machine-readable medium may be reformatted in one or more different ways in accordance with characters contained within the machine-readable medium.
To achieve these and other aspects and advantages, a method (or system) of the present invention populates a database and/or software screen in a computer with data read from portable high-capacity machine-readable media by performing the steps of: loading and executing an interpretive software program in the computer, reading a portable high-capacity machine-readable medium with a reading device coupled to the computer, and using the interpretive software program to identify any instructor characters that are present in the data read from the machine-readable medium, and reformat the data in the machine-readable medium that follows the corresponding instructor character in a manner associated with the instructor character.
An additional aspect of the present invention is to provide a method for populating a database and/or software screen in a computer with data read from a portable high-capacity machine-readable medium, such that the data may populate data fields within the database that are specified in characters contained in the machine-readable medium. To achieve this and other aspects and advantages, the method of the present invention comprises the steps of:
loading and executing an interpretive software program in the computer; reading a portable high-capacity machine-readable medium with a reading device coupled to the computer; and using the interpretive software program to identify any instructor characters that are present in the data read from the machine-readable medium, identify a data field within the database and/or software screen that corresponds to each identified instructor character, and populate the identified data field with data in the machine-readable medium that follows the corresponding instructor character.
Still another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method for populating a database and/or software screen in a computer with data read from a portable high-capacity machine-readable medium, where the data may be accepted or rejected based upon the presence of a special character contained in the machine-readable medium. To achieve this and other aspects and advantages, the method of the present invention comprises the steps of: loading and executing an interpretive software program in the computer; reading a portable high-capacity machine-readable medium with a reading device coupled to the computer; and using the interpretive software program to identify any qualifier character that is present in the data read from the machine-readable medium, ignore the data if no qualifier character is identified, and populate the database and/or software screen with the data read from the machine-readable medium if a qualifier character is identified.
These and other features, advantages, and objects of the present invention will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art by reference to the following specification, claims, and appended drawings.